prepare for a government shutdown, some parts of the economy will suffer more than others. we will explain what it means for you. and the affordable care act may effect the care you get at your local hospitals, and plus some investors are putting a price tag on how much you are worth. i'm david shuster in for ali money." ♪ this is "real money" and you the most important part of the show, so join our live conversation for the next half by using the twitter hashtag

ajrealmoney. the government is now down to the wire to avoid potential drags on the u.s. economy. the first comes october 1st, and on friday the sense of uncertainty was captured by the u.s. senate chaplain. >> lord deliver us from governing by crisis. >> but crisis is now where things are headed. the republican-lead house said it is unwilling to consider an emergency spending bill that just passed the senate, because the senate bill didn't kill obamacare with house reasoning refusing to drop testify that fort, stocks closed lower for the sixth straight day as investors worried the government will shut down october 1st. >> if the government shuts down on tuesday, military personnel, including those risking their lives overseas for us right now, will not get paid on time.

federal loans, small business owners, families buying a home will be frozen. >> the last time we had a government shutdown when bill clinton and newt gingrich squared off, it lasted for 26 days. according to the congressional budget office that shutdown shaved a half of a quarter worth of quarterly economic growth. analysts predict this time it will be worse because the economy is in worse shape. congress must raise the debt ceiling in three weeks, not raising the debt can spark immediate chaos and prompt a recession. today on twitter and facebook, we would be asking you, how would a government shutdown effect you. melissa says . . .

tell us what you think by tweeting us @ali velshi and @ajmoney. joining us is a woman who has already had to close two projects and has a contingency plan in place she joins us from arlington, virginia. what are you doing to prepare and what is your business doing to prepare. >> we're delivering on our contingency plan and communicating with our employees and our clients, which is the government. >> how much of an economic hit would a government shutdown be to you. >> we're going to take a large

hit as many small businesses will. so we are very nervous and very uncertain in these times. >> how many workers are you talking about that you may have to layoff or projects -- how many people are involved in these projects that you have stopped? >> well, we have -- you know, well over 80 people working on projects, and it's really uncertain exactly how many will be effected. we'll certainly operate with those remaining on our payroll for a while, but the last time the government shut down it was 26 days, and that's a really long time. >> what is the message you are hearing from your fellow contractors and other small businesses in the d.c. area in terms of what they are looking at? >> we're certainly sharing news with each other. we're getting minute by minute updates from our clients. former leadership at the

departments, and project communications, and we're also answering questions from our employees as the shutdown nears. >> what are some of the you? >> the employees want to know what -- where they report to work next week, what they are going to be doing? those that can't work on projects will come back and work in the office and help us work through the crisis. others will be considered essential support to the government personnel and will continue to support the government, but will be very, very busy because many, many government workers will be furloughed and will have to continue to support if we're required to do so in the case of the mission. >> what has the environment been like over the last couple of months as far as small businesses, particularly those contracts? >> it's getting more and more uncertain, because sequestration

was already a big hit, and now we're in the position of going through this shutdown, and then in two or three weeks when the debt ceiling comes up, we'll go through exactly the same process, assuming the government is opening and functioning at that point. >> listenann casey, thanks for being with us. we appreciate it. businesses like lynnann's are already bracing for a shutdown, but what does it mean for the overall economy. an extended shutdown could derail the recovery. brian kessler joins us from philadelphia. how long does the government have to be shut down before the ditch? >> i don't know if it will be completely in the ditch, but if we have a government shutdown that lasts something like three or four weeks long, we'll see a

growth. >> because the economy is as fragile right now, the impact could be greater. what are you seeing or predicting in terms of impact on unemployment or slowdown in economic recovery? suppose this does go for month? >> if it does go for a month, essentially what you are looking at is something like 1.2 million employees being added to the unemployment role. that is all of those workers that aren't getting paychecks that will cut back on spending. you are also looking at pretty severe impacts for the tourism industry. the national parks being closed will hurt the communities that depend on them for tourism, but also the airline industry is going to take a big impact when the state department is no longer able to approve visas for foreign travelers.

>> what should consumers, small business owners, please, what should they do to prepare for all of this? >> probably the best thing you can do is call your member or congress or senator and tell them to pass the appropriations bill and move on. >> in addition to the bill, congress is also looking at october 17th, possibly using raising the debt ceiling as another form of leverage to try to kill obamacare. how much greater would the damage be to the economy if it's the debt ceiling that gets delayed as opposed to the government being shut down? >> that's really hard to say. if you are looking just in terms of the government spending that would be immediately shut off or delayed if the debt ceiling wasn't raised, the impact is already significantly larger than just a government shutdown. but the really scary thing about the debt ceiling is that it's an unknown quantity.

the impact that it would have on u.s. treasury bonds on world financial markets on the full faith and credit of the united states is hard to predict because we have never been down this road before. >> so uncertainty is not good for the economy, right? >> yeah, that's right. when we look at the impact of -- when we did this the last time in 2011, the gao estimated it ended up costing the federal government i think $1.3 billion for the end of the fiscal year. that was just two months and that we didn't actually breech the debt ceiling. >> brian kessler an economist for moody's thing you very much. a critical phase of president obama health care act

starting on tuesday. we'll head to hospitals and look at what obamacare will mean for money" continues. ♪ what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? it drives discussion across america. share your story on tv and online.

hospitals have a lot at steak as obamacare exchanges roll out next week. they may gain millions of new patients who didn't have insurance before, but they are also under huge pressure to cut costs and improve the quality of care -- [ technical difficulties ] and for me. david has the story. [ sirens blaring ] >> reporter: hospitals are getting bigger, joining forces to cut cost as the nation's health care overhaul takes effect. roughly a fifth of the country's hospitals are expected to pursue deals in the next decade. with deeper pockets they are hire more specialists and buy better technology. >> just the complexity of what hospitals have to contend with

today, whether it's the installation of electronic medical records or regulatory changes, you seeing more organizations come in under common umbrellas. >> reporter: those include doctor who are selling their practices to hospitals. these two trends could mean fewer choices for consumers, a trend analysts expect to accelerate under obamacare. here is why. under plans sold on the new exchanges analysts say insurance companies will likely narrow the network of hospitals and doctors available to their customers. that helps to make plans more affordable, but as hospitals merge and insurance companies strive to keep costs down, patients could find the doctors and hospitals they prefer are not included in their new policies. >> parkland hospital in dallas is what is called a certified application center for obamacare. that means come tuesday when the

exchanges open, parkland will help local residents navigate and sign up for obamacare. sharon is the ceo of parkland, sharon what is the big question you are getting from consumers who are confused? >> they are asking us what do we need to do in order to find out more about health insurance coverage, and when can we come in and talk to you about it? >> what are you doing to prepare questions? >> we're doing quite a lot. we have been training -- we have identified 420 people that we want to train as counselors, so we have begun that process already. and come tuesday we should have a minimum of 25 to 30 people available on the parkland campus

to answer questions, and assist assistance. >> how do you think that obamacare will affect your hospital in terms of the numbers? . >> you know that's -- that's really hard to say. we hope, of course that we retain all of the patients that we're seeing now, and expand by many with newly found health insurance, and that patients with -- with health insurance will begin to come to get health care sooner rather than later, so that the overall health of improve. >> how do you expect parkland to be different say six months or a year from now after obamacare has been in effect? >> i think we will be a much more efficient organization. we also have operational activities going on, so we maximize our capacity. so patients wanting to access primary care centers for

example, will have an easier time getting an appointment, coming right in, joining our patient center medical homes and continuing their care with us. >> you and some others have said that customer service is going to be crucial to the success of obamacare. what do you mean by that? >> patients have more and more choices. i think the market is becoming more competitive, and i think health systems such as parkland across the country need to respond in kind, and assure when patients come, they receive the best patient experience along with the greatest quality of care possible. >> and finally, have you gotten any guidance as to how things gopç]

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